Summer vs. Winter

Of course I'd prefer Fall as the year round season....but that ain't happening!

So today, I thought about how FREAKING hot out it was, and how much stuff my husband and I needed to get done outside (not that inside work didn't need done, but running a vacuum and doing laundry is never fun) and felt even more unmotivated as I felt beads of sweat just sitting there thinking about it.

How can anyone get anything done outside when the smog is so thick from heat & humidity that you feel like you cannot breath!? Maybe if I was on the beach with a Corona and sand between my toes, Ok...but clearly I am not!

In regards to horses, I know everyone is always anxious for the nice weather to get outside with their horses, hit the trails, ride outside, give baths, graze on grass, etc...but let's be honest, no one is riding in this heat - if you are, you should be shot for your horses sake ;)

So I got to thinking about all the reasons why l like winter time with my horses better than summer!

In the winter time:

-My horses have their furry winter coats that I love to rub my face into!
-I know the horses can help keep themselves warm munching on their hay
-Fresh, cold air is good for them!
- They (ok, well at least Apollo) LOVES romping around and taking a good roll in the snow
-There are 2 daily feedings, each of which is always the same - no additions, subtractions, deletions etc....
-Giving my horses a good grooming also helps warm them up and keeps their blood moving
-It is candy cane season :) And I can hang up Uncle Jimmy balls w/o worry of the dreaded flys
-Even better, no fly masks or fly sprays required in winter.....and no dang pesky flys hoarding in the stalls. Heck, I will gladly put on the Carhartts if it means NO FLYS!
-The horses get to enjoy warm bran mashes with warm molasses, applesauce, carrots and candy canes

In the summer time, I can mount a list of things that are NOT enjoyable!....

-The horses visibly show sweat through their summer coat as they try their hardest to defend themselves from the slaughtering heat - let's face it, I cannot install central ac in the barns.
-Hot, warm, smuggy air is probably no more fun for them to breath than it is for me
-Being in the pasture is nice - to an extent - no fly spray is 100% fool proof and eventually, it just gets to dang hot to be out
-Trying to introduce and then keep your horses safe on summer pasture is too much of a science for me to ever feel comfortable with. What if that was too much grass? What if it wasn't enough and now I am making them forgo their evening grain.....Time to switch them to the grazed down pasture...dang, the tall grass is sprouting MORE weeds......
-Great, just because I have APPLE TREES and HORSES on my property, it is not a sign that says "Welcome Neighbors, Come feed my horses all the apples they can eat off my apple trees"
-Trying to groom the horses when they are hot, sweaty and aggravated is just aggravating for me too!
-No Uncle Jimmy balls in the summer :( [ok, i know they can live w/o them!]
-Trying to find a decent fly spray, at least this year at our new farm, is like trying to find a needle in the haystack. Apparently, we have mutant flys that are immune to everything out here. Must be the cow shit they breath in?......
-The FLYS
-Cleaning out stalls in the sticky heat -UCK - yes, I clean my stalls with my flip-flops on sometimes....what is it to you!? It's freaking HOT out!
-The only thing enjoyable to the horses on these dreaded hot days is a quick hose down with cool water, but then you have to squeegee them off and put them in their stall to dry and I am SURE that doesn't feel so great! Hot sticky stall + wet horse = EWWWWW

So, in closing, Fall, you can get here anytime and you won't stay long. This I know ;( So Ol' Man Winter, bring it on! Yes, that is right, I said bring it on. I can handle frozen water buckets and nostrils sticking together when I breath :)